| Bruceploitation | |
|---|---|
 Super Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1974, starringBruce Li) is often credited as being the first entry in Bruceploitation.[1][2] | |
| Years active | 1974–1982 |
| Location | China, Japan, South Korea, United States |
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| Influences | |
| Influenced | |
Bruceploitation (aportmanteau of "Bruce Lee" and "exploitation") is anexploitation film subgenre that emerged after the death ofmartial arts film starBruce Lee in 1973, during which timefilmmakers from Hong Kong,Taiwan andSouth Korea cast Bruce Leelook-alike actors ("Lee-alikes") to star in imitation martial arts films, in order to exploit Lee's sudden international popularity.[3] Bruce Lee look-alike characters also commonly appear in other media, includinganime,comic books,manga, andvideo games.
When martial arts film star Bruce Lee died on July 20, 1973, he was Hong Kong's most famous martial arts actor, known for his roles in six feature-length Hong Kong martial arts films in the early 1970s:Lo Wei'sThe Big Boss (1971) andFist of Fury (1972);Golden Harvest'sThe Way of the Dragon (1972) and the incomplete filmGame of Death (1972), both directed and written by Lee; and Golden Harvest /Warner Brothers'Enter the Dragon (1973) andGame of Death: The Clouse Cut (1978), both films directed byRobert Clouse.
WhenEnter the Dragon became a box office success worldwide, many Hong Kong studios feared that a movie without their most famous star in it would not be financially successful and decided to play on Lee's sudden international fame by making movies that sounded like Bruce Lee starring vehicles. They cast actors who looked like Lee and changed their screen names to variations of Lee's name, such asBruce Li andBruce Le.[4]
After Bruce Lee's death, many actors assumed Lee-likestage names.Bruce Li (黎小龍 from his real name Ho Chung Tao 何宗道), Bruce Chen,Bruce Lai (real name Chang Yi-Tao),Bruce Le (呂小龍 from his real name Wong Kin Lung, 黃建龍), Bruce Lie,Bruce Leung, Saro Lee, Bruce Ly, Bruce Thai, Brute Lee, Myron Bruce Lee, Lee Bruce, andBruce Lei / Dragon Lee (real name Moon Kyoung-seok) were hired by studios to play Lee-styled roles.[5]Bruce Li appeared inBruce Lee Against Supermen, in which he stars asKato, assistant ofthe Green Hornet, a role originally played by the real Bruce Lee.[6]
Dragon Lee, a Korean who also used the name Bruce Lei, was another in this genre.
Additionally, when some Japanese karate and Koreantaekwondo films were dubbed into English for U.S. release, the protagonists were given new Lee-like stage names. Such was the case withJun Chong (credited as Bruce K. L. Lea in the altered and English-dubbedBruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave) andTadashi Yamashita (credited as Bronson Lee in the altered English-dubbedBronson Lee, Champion).
Jackie Chan, who started his movie career as an extra andstunt artist in some of Bruce Lee's movies, was also given roles where he was promoted as the next Bruce Lee as Chan Yuen Lung (with Yuen Lung's stage name borrowed from his fellowFortunes actorSammo Hung), such asNew Fist of Fury (1976). Only when he made some comedy-themed movies for another studio was he able to attain box-office success.[citation needed]
In 2001, actorDanny Chan Kwok-kwan sported Lee's look in the Cantonese comedy filmShaolin Soccer. The role landed him to play Lee in the biographical television seriesThe Legend of Bruce Lee.[citation needed]
Some of the films, such asRe-Enter the Dragon,Enter Three Dragons,Return of Bruce,Enter Another Dragon,Return of the Fists of Fury, orEnter the Game of Death, were rehashes of Bruce Lee's classics. Others told Lee's life story and explored his mysteries, such asBruce Lee's Secret (a farcical rehash starring Bruce-cloneBruce Li in San Francisco defending Chinese immigrants from thugs),Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (whereBruce Li is asked by Bruce Lee to replace him after his death), andBruce's Fist of Vengeance.
Other films used his death as a plot element such asThe Clones of Bruce Lee (whereclones of Bruce Lee portrayed by some of the above actors are created by scientists) orThe Dragon Lives Again (where Bruce Lee fights fictional characters such asJames Bond,Clint Eastwood andDracula inHell and finds allies amongst others such asPopeye andKwai Chang Caine). Others, such asBruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave, featured Lee imitators but with a plot having nothing to do with Bruce Lee.
One of Lee'sfight choreographers, actor-directorSammo Hung, famouslysatirised the phenomenon of Bruceploitation in his 1978 film,Enter the Fat Dragon.Elliott Hong'sThey Call Me Bruce? satirised the tendency for all male Asian actors (and by extension, male Asians in general) to have to sell themselves as Bruce Lee-types to succeed.
One notable film isFist of Fear, Touch of Death released in 1980. While the real Lee does appear in the movie, it is only through dubbed stock footage.[7] The movie passes itself off as non-fiction but is fictional. The plot involves a martial arts tournament where the prize is recognition as Lee's successor. This is intertwined with what the movie passes off as the life story of Bruce Lee. The film says that Lee's parents did not want him be a martial artist, and he ran away from home to become an actor. In real life, they encouraged his careers.[7] The film conflates China and Japan by stating Lee's martial art was Karate (a Japanese art) instead of Kung Fu (a Chinese art) and that his great-grandfather was a samurai (impossible as samurai are found in Japan, not China).[8]
Bruceploitation ended whenJackie Chan made a name for himself with the success of the kung fu comediesSnake in the Eagle's Shadow andDrunken Master. These films established him as the "new king" of Hong Kong martial arts cinema. Another factor in the end of Bruceploitation was the beginning of theShaw Brothers film era in the late 1970s, which started with movies such asFive Deadly Venoms which featured new martial arts stars in theVenom Mob. Since the end of the trend, Bruce Lee's influence onHong Kong action cinema remained strong, but the actors began establishing their own personalities, and the films began to take on a more comedic approach.[10][11]
In 2017, production began on the documentaryEnter the Clones of Bruce (2023). The documentary interviews many of the key players of the Bruceploitation movement, including Ho Chung-tao (Bruce Li), Huang Jianlong (Bruce Le), Ryong Keo (Dragon Lee), and Leung Choi-sang (Bruce Liang). The film had its world premiere at the 2023Tribeca Film Festival.[12]
Bruceploitation has continued in the United States in a muted form since the 1970s. Films such asForce: Five,No Retreat, No Surrender, andThe Last Dragon used Bruce Lee as a marketing hook, and the genre continues to be a source of exploration for fans of the late Little Dragon and his doppelgangers.Fist of Fear, Touch of Death told a fictional life story of the star.
In May 2010, Carl Jones published the bookHere Come the Kung Fu Clones. It focuses on a particular Lee-a-like,Ho Chung Tao, but it also explores the best and worst actors and films that the genre has to offer.[13]
The first Spanish book on the genre by Ivan E. Fernandez Fojón,Bruceploitation. Los clones de Bruce Lee was published by Applehead Team Creaciones in November 2017.
In 1994, the filmThe Green Hornet was released in Hong Kong, directed byLam Ching-ying (friend andaction choreographer of Bruce Lee)[14] and starringChin Ka-lok, in the plot, Dong (Chin Ka-lok) is the current Green Hornet (acomposite character between Green Hornet and Kato), following a millennial legacy, a predecessor of Dong looks like Kato (Bruce Lee).[15]
Black Mask is a 1996 Hong Kong action film starringJet Li. Based on the 1992manhua of the same name created by Li Chi-Tak,[16] the film features a hero who wears a domino mask and a chauffeur's cap, in homage to the Kato.[17] In 2002, the sequelBlack Mask 2: City of Masks was released, this time starringAndy On in the title role.[18][19]
In the filmLegend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010),Donnie Yen playsChen Zhen, a character played by Bruce Lee in the classicFist of Fury (1972). Chen Zhen adopts a masked identity inspired by Kato to fight against the Japanese occupation and protect the population.[20]
Stewart Home’s bookRe-Enter The Dragon: Genre Theory, Brucesploitation & the Sleazy Joys of Lowbrow Cinema (Ledatape Organisation, Melbourne 2018) "is cleaning up the territory and sharpening the contours of the category of Bruceploitation which as he sees it has not been worked out rigorously enough by early pioneers."[21] This book appeared after Home made and exhibited an art film meditation on the subject of Bruceploitation for Glasgow International in 2016.[22]
The Legend of Bruce Lee (2008), aChinese television drama series based on the life ofBruce Lee, has been watched by over400 million viewers in China through CCTV, making it the most-watched Chinese television drama series of all time, as of 2017.[23][24] It has also been aired in other parts of the world.
Thecomic book medium also gave birth to several characters inspired by Bruce Lee, most notably in Japanese comics ormanga.
Bruce Lee had an influence on severalAmerican comic book writers, notablyMarvel Comics founderStan Lee,[25] who considered Bruce Lee to be asuperhero without a costume.[26] Shortly after his death, Lee inspired the Marvel characterIron Fist (debuted 1974) and the comic book seriesThe Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (debuted 1974). According to Stan Lee, any character that is a martial artist since then owes their origin to Bruce Lee in some form.[26]Paul Gulacy was inspired by Bruce Lee when he drew the Marvel characterShang-Chi.[27]
InTetsuo Hara andBuronson’s influentialshōnen manga andanime seriesHokuto no Ken, known to Western audiences asFist of the North Star, the main characterKenshiro was deliberately created by them based on Bruce Lee, combined with influences from the filmMad Max.[28] Kenshiro’s appearance resembles that of Lee, as well as mannerisms inspired by Lee, such as his fighting style and battle cries. Additionally, inHokuto no Ken’s prequelSouten no Ken, the main character is Kenshiro’s uncle, named Kenshiro Kasumi, who is also modelled after Lee’s physique and mannerisms in the same way as his nephew.
Akira Toriyama's influential shonenmanga and anime seriesDragon Ball was also inspired by Bruce Lee films, such asEnter the Dragon (1973).[29][30] The titleDragon Ball was inspired byEnter the Dragon as well as later Bruceploitation knockoff kung fu movies which frequently had the word "Dragon" in the title.[29] Later, when Toriyama created theSuper Saiyan transformation during theFreeza arc, he gaveGoku piercing eyes based on Bruce Lee's paralysing glare.[31]
InMasashi Kishimoto’sNaruto manga, the charactersMight Guy andRock Lee were modelled by him after Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee films such asGame of Death andEnter the Dragon were the foundation forvideo game genres such asbeat 'em upaction games andfighting games.[32][33][34]Kung-Fu Master (1984), considered the first beat 'em up game, is based on Lee'sGame of Death, with the five-level Devil's Temple reflecting the movie's setting of a five-levelpagoda with a martial arts master in each level.[35]Kung-Fu Master in turn served as the prototype for most subsequent martial artsaction games in the late 1980s.[36]Datasoft Inc. also released the gameBruce Lee in 1984.
The fighting gameYie Ar Kung-Fu (1985) was also inspired by Bruce Lee films, with the mainplayer character Oolong modelled after Lee (like Bruceploitation films). In turn,Yie Ar Kung-Fu established the template for subsequent fighting games.[37] TheStreet Fightervideo game franchise (1987 debut) was inspired byEnter the Dragon, with the gameplay centered around an international fighting tournament, and each character having a unique combination of ethnicity, nationality and fighting style;Street Fighter went on to set the template for all fighting games that followed.[38]
Since then, numerous fighting games have featured Bruce Lee look-alike characters, starting withWorld Heroes which introduced Kim Dragon in 1992.[32]Super Street Fighter II characterFei Long was designed as a homage to Bruce Lee as well. The characterLiu Kang in theMortal Kombat franchise was also modelled after Bruce Lee.[39] TheTekken franchise followed suit withMarshall Law, and just once had him substituted by introducing his sonForest Law.EA Sports UFC includes Bruce Lee as an unlockable character, though it came with the approval of his daughterShannon.
Another notable game that features Bruce Lee isThe Dragon, released in 1995 by Ramar International (also called Rinco) and Tony Tech in Taiwan.[40] The game is for the Famicom (better known as theNintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the west) but is not licensed by Nintendo or the Bruce Lee estate. The game's plot is loosely based on the plots of Lee's films and most levels are given titles from them.[40] The game mixes fighting parts with platforming parts and is also noted for stealing graphics fromMortal Kombat (including using Liu Kang to represent Lee), being one of the few Famicom/NES games to have two languages (English and Arabic) available in game and one of the few in Arabic at all.[40] The game's official Arabic title as shown on the title screen isالتنين ("Al-Tinneen") and the box also gives the game the Chinese title of李小龍 ("Lǐ Xiǎolóng", Bruce Lee's name in Chinese) and the alternate title ofLee Dragon.[40]
Many other video games have characters based on Lee, although he is rarely credited. Video game characters synonymous with Lee are usually spotted by fighting techniques and signature "jumping stance", physical appearances, clothing, and iconic battle cries and yells similar to those of Lee. Examples includefighting game characters such asMaxi in theSoulcalibur series andJann Lee in theDead or Alive series.
Though Bruce Lee did not appear in commercials during his lifetime, his likeness and image has since appeared in hundreds of commercials around the world.[26]
Nokia launched an Internet-based campaign in 2008 with staged "documentary-looking" footage of Bruce Lee playing ping-pong with hisnunchaku and also igniting matches as they are thrown toward him. The videos went viral onYouTube, creating confusion as some people believed them to be authentic footage.[41]
The clothing apparel company Bow & Arrow released the "Gung Fu Scratch" t-shirt, featuring an image of Bruce Leephotoshopped to make it look like he isDJing. The t-shirt has been worn by celebrities such asJustin Bieber,Will Smith,Nas,Snoop Dogg andNe-Yo.[42] The image became more popular following its appearance in theMarvel Cinematic Universesuperhero filmAvengers: Age of Ultron (2015), in whichTony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) wears it. Sales of the t-shirt increased substantially following the film's release.[43]
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